Citations
- 181 F.2d 480
Full opinion text
DENMAN, Chief Judge.
These are ten appeals from judgments and commitments in civil contempt, based upon refusals to answer questions put to appellants while witnesses in an investigation by a grand jury of the District Court for the Southern District of California. The refusals were based upon the claim that the answers would tend to incriminate them. A hearing was had before the district court for each appellant and the court ordered the questions answered. The refusals led to the judgments.
The questions asked may be briefly summarized as follows:
Appellants Bissey, Noble and Smith were asked substantially the following questions:
1) Do you know the names of the county officers of the Los Angeles County Communist Party?
2) Do you know the table of organization of the Los Angeles County Communist Party ?
3) Do you know Ned Sparks?
Appellants Alexander, Forest, Kasino-witz and Steinberg were asked substantially the following questions:
1) Do you know the names of the county officers of the Los Angeles County Communist Party ?
2) Do you know the table of organization and duties of the Los Angeles County Communist Party?
Appellant Dobbs was asked substantially the following questions:
1) The questions heretofore described in connection with the first group of appellants just above, and in addition thereto,
2) “By whom are you employed”; this question having been asked after appellant Dobbs had testified that his occupation was “an organizer.”
Appellant Bock was asked the following questions:
1) The questions described in connection with the second group of appellants just above, and in addition thereto,
2) “An organizer for whom?”; this question having been asked after the witness had testified that he was an organizer.
Appellant Sherman was asked the following questions:
1) Do you know the names of the county officers of the Los Angeles County Communist Party?
2) Do you know Ned Sparks?
To eight of these appellants, Assistant Attorney General Goldschein made statements calculated to persuade them that their answers to such questions could not incriminate them. Typical is the following:
“Q. By Mr. Goldschein: Your name is Frank Edward Alexander, is that right? A.' Yes. :
“Q. Where do you live? A. 78 Hurl-burt Street, Pasadena.
“Q. I want to let you know before we start that you are not under investigation by this grand jury for any offense. You are merely called here as a witness to give evidence that you may -have of certain facts that the grand jury is interested in. Do you understand that ? A. I do.
“Q. Now, do you know the names of the county officers of the Los Angeles Communist Party ? A. I refuse to answer that on the basis it may incriminate me.”
“Q. Do you know the table of organization